Jennifer H. Karnes and Stephen B. Karnes signed the trust deed as members of Midtown Animal Land, which acquired the property in a 2010 quitclaim deed from a related entity, Midtown Animal LLC, in an internal transfer. Prior to that, Midtown Animal bought the property in 2005 for $100,000.

Built in 1946, the 3,411-square-foot veterinary clinic sits on 0.3 acres along the north side of Central Avenue east of its intersection with South Cooper Street.

The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2013 appraisal is $167,200.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Saint Francis Memphis Earns Tenet Circle of Excellence

Saint Francis Hospital-Memphis said it has received Tenet’s 2013 Circle of Excellence Award.

The 519-bed Memphis hospital is one of nine Tenet Healthcare Corp.-owned hospitals recognized for superior quality care, service excellence and operational performance. Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare operates 49 hospitals and 124 outpatient centers in the U.S.

“I am proud to recognize them with this prestigious award as it recognizes Saint Francis as a preferred hospital for patients to receive care, for physicians to practice medicine and for employees to work,” Britt Reynolds, Tenet’s president of hospital operations said in a statement.

– Jennifer Johnson Backer

TVA Reports Net Gain of $54 Million in Second Quarter

The Tennessee Valley Authority on Friday reported a net income of $54 million in its second fiscal quarter.

TVA President and CEO Bill Johnson said the government utility ended the quarter on plan because of more favorable weather and employee efforts to reduce costs. The results from the January-March period compare favorably with the same quarter in 2012, in which revenues showed a net loss of $94 million.

The most recent quarter had operating revenues of $2.74 billion compared with $2.60 billion a year ago.

Electricity sales to power distributors were up 9 percent in the most recent period, but were offset by a drop in demand by industrial customers. There were higher sales of excess generation to other utilities, which helped the bottom line.

– The Associated Press

Moore Tech Sets Enrollment Record

William R. Moore College of Technology has begun its spring trimester with the highest enrollment in the history of the college.

Seventy-eight students are registered for day classes and 168 for night programs, for a total of 246 students. That’s a 14 percent increase over the recent winter trimester and a 31 percent increase over the spring trimester last year.

The 74-year-old nonprofit and private vocational college is at 1200 Poplar Ave.

– Andy Meek

Mississippi River Office Solutions Relaunches

Mississippi River Office Solutions is hosting an open house Wednesday, May 8, to celebrate the launch of the company under its new name.

The event at 478 N. Hollywood St. from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. will invite current and prospective clients, media and government officials to tour the company’s newly remodeled showroom following a ribbon cutting with the Greater Memphis Chamber.

The company has served the Memphis community for more than eight years under its former name, Mister Company. In the fall of 2012, Carrie Rundhaug became the new owner and renamed it Mississippi River Office Solutions. The company then refocused its efforts on space planning services and modern office furniture while still offering promotional products, office supplies and printing services.

– Andy Meek

Survey: US Service Firms Grew More Slowly in April

A survey of U.S. service firms says the sector expanded at a slower pace in April than March, as companies reported less business activity and couldn’t raise prices.

The Institute for Supply Management said Friday that its index of non-manufacturing activity fell to 53.1 in April from 54.4 in March. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion.

The report measures growth in industries that cover 90 percent of the work force, including retail, construction, health care and financial services.

The decline in the index suggests some service companies may be starting to see less consumer demand, in part because of higher Social Security taxes.

April’s weakness was largely because of a steep drop in a measure of prices. That index dropped from 55.9 in March to 51.2 last month. Nearly 70 percent of firms surveyed said they did not change their prices last month, while 10 percent lowered them.

A measure of business activity also declined. Still, a gauge of new orders was mostly unchanged and businesses stepped up restocking, a sign that they expect consumer spending to pick up.

Growth in the service industry depends largely on consumers, whose spending drives roughly 70 percent of economic activity. Americans boosted their spending from January through March at the fastest pace in more than two years, despite the increase in Social Security taxes that kicked in on Jan. 1.

But other indicators suggest the tax increase is starting to catch up with consumers. Retail spending fell in March by the most in nine months.

– The Associated Press

US Factory Orders Down 4 Percent in March

Orders to U.S. factories fell in March by the largest amount in seven months but a key category that signals business investment plans managed a small increase. Factory orders dropped 4 percent in March, reflecting a big plunge in the volatile category of commercial aircraft, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Orders had been up 1.9 percent in February. Orders in a category considered a proxy for business investment plans rose 0.9 percent, a modest gain but an improvement from a preliminary report last week that had shown a decline.

Weaker economies overseas and the impact of across-the-board government spending cuts have made businesses more cautious, dampening demand for manufactured goods. But even with the March decline, total orders stood at $467.3 billion, 43 percent above the recession low hit in March 2009.

Demand for durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, fell 5.8 percent in March, after a 4.3 percent February increase. Orders for nondurable goods, items such as chemicals, petroleum and paper, were down 2.4 percent following a 0.1 percent dip in February. This weakness partly reflects falling prices for energy products.

The 0.9 percent rise in core capital goods, the category watched for business investment, followed a 4.8 percent decline in February and a 6.7 percent surge in January.

In the durable goods area, orders for commercial aircraft plunged 48.3 percent and demand for autos and auto parts fell edged down 0.4 percent, a drop expected to be reversed in coming months given recent strong auto sales.

– The Associated Press

Faith Group Joins Opposition to ‘Ag Gag’ Bill

Members of the faith community are expressing their opposition to a bill that would make it a crime to video record animal abuse if it isn’t turned over to law enforcement authorities within 48 hours.

The director of Clergy for Justice and another minister delivered a letter to Gov. Bill Haslam last week asking him to veto the bill, which is drawing opposition from other groups and even some celebrities.

Clergy for Justice Director Kathy Chambers says more than 300 ministers and people of faith have said they’re against the proposal, dubbed the “ag gag” bill.

Critics say the bill would put an end to extended undercover operations targeting animal abuse.

The governor’s office has yet to receive the bill from the General Assembly. Once it arrives, Haslam has 10 days to veto it or let it become law.